What a race!

How does it feel to fall back into last place right after the start? When Sebastian spun around on the tarmac that was slippery from the drizzle, my heart dropped a few beats. He had to drive into the wrong direction to be able to go back in line and kind of start all over again. It reminded me of my wise friend Bertrand Piccard who said that sometimes you have to embrace a detour to reach your goal in an unorthodox way (he had to avoid China when he drove around the world in a balloon because the Chinese didn´t allow him the passage, even though the prevailing winds had always suggested that route - in the end he succeeded with a totally different crossing of asia than initially expected).
Sebastian kept fighting his way back up, but when also Mark Webber spun a donut, I was shocked. Luckily it happened early in the race so the guys had time. Together they climbed up the rankings again, never giving up, even when Sebastian´s radio broke down and he had that very unusual and unexpected stop in the box. Mere horror stood in the faces of the guys in the box around me when they saw how long it took to change Sebastian´s tyres.
It kept raining. Dr Marko had asked me before the race about my expectations for the weather. Rain at half past two, I said (and knew he wouldnt like it). After the race he smiled at me and said, "Your prediction was late!" Well maybe next time I may have a look at the satellite image and have a chat with the meteorologists. Hey, I would love to do that job! But, just like in hang gliding, the poor meteo guy is always the bad one when he comes up with what we don´t want to hear...
I had an interface at hand with which I could watch Sebastians on board camera, which I kept on all the time during the race. Lots and lots of rain. A miracle to me how he could safely overtake soooo many other cars again. When Mark finished 4th and Sebastian 6th in the end, they prooved their class to everybody. What a performance, impressively demonstrating their driving skills and mental strength!
When I met Owen Wilson on the track, I asked him for a photo with me. I kind of found it rude to ask a favour and not offer anything in return, so I translated Massa´s emotional speach for him, as there were no English subtitles (well the audience was mainly Brasilian, and I think Massa made a few of his fans cry too ;))
Flying back home today, I was very pleased to find almost the complete Scuderia Torro Rosso in the compartment I worked in. Probably the only time they ever enjoyed a Red Bull athlete serving them dinner and drinks!